Means for controlling the valves of elevators



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

R. C. SMITH.

MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE VALVES OF ELEVATORS. No. 334,907. PatentedJan. 26, 1886.

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I %mysafir %W /l (No Model.) -2 Sheets-Sheet 21 R. C. SMITH MBANS FORGONTROLLING THE VALVBS 01- ELEVATORS.

No. 334,907. `Patented Jan. 26, 1886.,

UNITED STATE ATENT RUDOLPH 0. SMITH, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 33%,907, dated January26.188&

Applic ion filed December 15,185'5. Serial No. 1S5,77G

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUDOLPH C. SMITH, of Yonkers, in the county ofWestchcster and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Means for Controlling the Valves of Elevators, of whichthe following is a specification. V

The object of my invention is to provide a substitute for the ordinaryhand-rope for operating the valve which controls the rising and fallingmovements of an elevator car or cab, whereby the attendant may, by thesimple movement of a lever or handle, effect the desired result in amore accurate and easy manner than heretofore.

The invention consists in the combination, with an elevator car or cab,of a rope or cable passing around pulleys above and below the travel ofthe car or cab, and having its ends terminating at the car or cab, and ahandle whereby the portion of rope or cable depending from the car orcab may be drawn in or Shortened and paid out or lengthened, as may bedesired, to operate the valve. One end of this rope or cable may beattached to the car or cab and the other end be attached to the handleon the car, or both ends of the rope or cable may be attached atopposite points to the handle. If a weight be enployed to produce themovement of the rope or cable and the shifting handle in one direction,a single rope or cable only is necessary; but I prefer to ern-' ploy twosimilar ropes or cables, attached at their one end to opposite points inthe handle, so that one rope will be paid out as the othcr is drawn inor shortened.

In the accompanying drawings, Fgure 1 is an elevation, partly insection, of an elevator and appurtenances embodying my invention; andFigs. 2 and 3 are sectional elevations illustrating slight modificationsof my invention.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

Referring first to Fg. 1, A designates the car or cab, arranged to riseand fall along guides B, and Suspended from cables C, which pass aroundoverhead pulleys or sleaves, D, and are drawn in or paid out by ahydraulic engine or other elevatormotor E, to which my invention innowise relates.

F designates a valve, whereby the flow of (No m del.)

water to and from the engine or motorE may be controlled, and which maybe of any suitable character. As here represented it is provided with arack-bar, a, with which engages apinion, b.

c designates a lever fulcrumed concentrically with the pinion s aXis,and so connected that the swinging` of the lever will turn the pinionand shift the rack-bar a and valve. I have shown two similar cables,ropes, or other flexible connections, d d', which pass around pulleys ee and ff, above and below the travel oi' the car or cab A. The lowerpulleys, ff, are hung in opposite ends of the lever c, and are free toturn therein. Each cable d d' is nearly twice the height of theelevatorshaft in length, and at one end, d*, is attached to the car orcab, while its outer end extends upward into and terminates in the caror cab A. The two ends d of the cables, which terminate in the car orcab, are attach'ed to a lever or handle, G, at opposite sides of itsfulcrum g, and it will be readily understood that by swinging the leveror handle G in one direction the cable el will be paid out or lengthenedbelow the car, while the cable d' will be drawn in or shortened belowthe car. On the contrary, if the lever or handle G be moved in thereverse direction, the cable d will be drawn in or Shortened, and thecable d will be paid out or lengthened. When the cable d or d' is thusShortened or drawn into the car, the end of the lever c, which carriesthe pulley around which that cable passes, will be raised and therebythe pinion b will be turned and the valve F shifted. A single cable, d,might be einployed to accomplish the result; but in that case thereshould be a weight, h, on the lever G, as shown by dotted lines, or atsome equivalent point, in order to produce the return movement of thelever G.

The arrangement shown in Fig. 2 is like that above described in so faras the same letters are used to designate the parts, and operates uponexactly the same principle. In this example of my invention the two endsd of the cables d d@ which terminate in the car or cab A, are carried inopposite directions around a drum or pulley, G and attached thereto atthe points d This drum or pulley constitutes a handle, which may beturned in IOO one or other direction to draw in or Shorten one cable andpay out or lengthen the other cable. In this latter example ot' myinvention the pulleysf,` below the travel of the car or cab, are pivotedin stirrups, from which depend bands or other flexible connections i,passing in op posite directions round a pulley or drun1,j, and attachedthereto at i'. Th en either cable d or d' is drawn in or Shortened, theconnection' depending froni the pulley around which that cable passes isdrawn upon, and the pulley or drum j is thus turned in one or otherdirection,

for the purpose of shifting a valve connected with it in any suitablemanner. The shaft 'of the drum j may, for example, have upon it a pinionlike that I), shown in Fig. 1, for operating the valve.

In the example of my invention shown in Fig. 3 the two ropes, d d' whichpass over pulleys e, fixed above the cab A, and under pulleys ff, whichare connected by the straps or connections i with the drum j, have boththeir ends terminatin g in the cab and attach 'ed at opposite points tothe lever or handle G. When this levcr or handle is shifted, each ropeor cable is drawn into the cab from above and from below; but as thepulleys e'are fixed, the only effect is to draw up one of the pulleysfand allow the other pulleyf to fall.

I have in Fig. 1 shown the valve-shifting devices as connected with themain valve, which Controls the adnission-of water to and its exhaustfroni the hydraulic apparatus E; but, if desired, these shifting devicesmay be employed to shift an anXiliary valve which Controls the operationof an independent engine, by which the main valve is operated,

as shown in Letters PatentN 0314.720, granted March 31, 1885, to GeorgeH. Reynolds, and in Letters Patent N o. 306,097, granted October 7,1884, to Otis and Schmidt.

X'Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-- 1. The combination, with an elevator car or cab, of a rope or cablepassing around pulleys above and below the travel of the car or cab, andhaving its ends terminating at the car or oab, and a handle whereby theportion' of a rope or cable depending from the car or cab may be drawnin or Shortened and paid out or lengthened, substantially as hereindescribed.

2. The combination, with an elevator car or cab, of a rope or cablepassing around pulleys above and below the travel of the car or cab, andhaving one of its ends attached to the car or cab and its other endterminating ther-ein and attached to a handle, whereby it may be drawnin or Shortened and paid out or lengthened, substnntially as hereindescribed.

3. The conbination, with an elevator car or cab, of two ropes or cablespassing around pulleys above and below the travel of the car or cab,attached at their one end to the 'car or cab and having their other endsterninating in the car or cab and attached at opposite points to anoperating-handle, substantially as herein described.

RUDOLPH C. SMITH.

NVit n css es M. LINDEMAN, FREDK. HAYNES.

